Henninger: America's Two Economies

With Barack Obama, the competition between the private economy and the public economy is clear.

By

Daniel Henninger

July 25, 2012 6:40 p.m. ET

For a long time, the United States had one economy. Now we have two economies that compete for America's wealth: A private economy and a public economy. The 2012 election will decide which will be subordinate to the other. One economy will lead. The other will follow.

How the U.S. arrived at the need to choose between two competing economies reveals a lot about the political polarization in the country. Any history of the Democratic Party in the 20th century will recognize its roots in the American labor movement. The...